Applications are now closed.
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What is the goal of the program?Identify and partner with startups that use AI to solve problems in the financial services space with a view that these startups can become vendors to CS India + can be considered for a seed / pre-A round from Saison Capital and other investors.
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Who is Credit Saison India?Established in 2019, Credit Saison India is one of India's fastest growing Non-Bank Financial Company (NBFC) lenders, with verticals in wholesale, direct lending and tech-enabled partnerships with NBFCs and fintechs. Its tech-enabled model coupled with underwriting capability facilitates lending at scale, meeting India’s huge gap for credit, especially with underserved and under penetrated segments of the population. With an AUM of USD 2B+, CS India is one of only 12 NBFCs (out of 9,300+) that is AAA rated by CRISIL.
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Who is Saison Capital?Saison Capital is the corporate venture capital arm of Credit Saison, one of Japan’s largest non-bank financial companies. We invest in Seed to Series A companies across South East Asia and India. Although the mandate of the fund is sector agnostic, we like to work with companies solving problems in financial services and B2B commerce.
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Why are we running this program?Credit Saison India, one of India's largest NBFCs, wants to work with innovative startups that can use AI to deliver on custom solutions that will help it scale faster, underwrite more effectively and serve customers better. Saison Capital, the investing arm of Credit Saison Japan, wants to partner with and fund startups that solve real use cases in the financial services space. We have come together to help startups that are using AI to solve problems in financial services, test their proposition via a PoC with Credit Saison India and access funding via Saison Capital.
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What are the various steps and deadlines in the program?Please refer to the section above for program details and steps.
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What kind of startups should apply?Those who are solving specific use cases for large financial services companies (banks, NBFCs) Those who are solving a problem using AI Those who have a product readily available to run a "proof of concept" with Credit Saison India Those that have raised < 5M USD
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What kind of startups should NOT apply?That are still ideating That have no product that can be used to do a PoC That are not AI-enabled That have no relevance to financial services
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How to apply?
Get accelerated consideration for early stage funding
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In addition, startups will get fast-track consideration from Saison Capital, the corporate venture capital arm of the Credit Saison group, to access early stage funding.
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Receive insights and access to our leading initiative partners
Astra is supported by AWS, IIFL and more, who will provide valuable insights and feedback to startups on their growth journey on and form important networks and relationships for the future.
In partnership with
Astra is supported by AWS, IIFL and more, who will provide valuable insights and feedback to startups on their growth journey and help form important networks and relationships for the future.
Born from the Latin word astrum, Astra means star.
Astra is also steeped In Hindu mythology; "Astras" (अस्त्र) are supernatural weapons invoked by deities in their fight for good against evil. They are powerful and transformative.
Born from the Latin word astrum, Astra means star.
Astra is also steeped In Hindu mythology; "Astras" (अस्त्र) are supernatural weapons invoked by deities in their fight for good against evil. They are powerful and transformative.
Application
By 31 October 2024
Startups building AI products and services for the financial sector are welcome to apply.
Evaluation
By 30 November 2024
From the pool of applicants, the Astra team will select 8-10 startups that will enter into Proof of Concept (PoCs) stage with Credit Saison India.
PoC Stage
December/January 2025
Shortlisted startups will receive mentorship from senior leaders at Credit Saison India and Saison Capital to refine their product use cases and investment pitch. Startups can also look forward to deploy their products and services in a live business and demonstrate potential benefits.
Demo Day
January/ February 2025
All startups will do a 20-30 min presentation on their product and the impact of the PoC to a panel of judges that will include people from Credit Saison India, Saison Capital and partner VCs. Demo Day will take place in-person in Bengaluru.
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Pilot your innovations with India's fastest growing NBFC
Through Astra, startups can pilot and explore use cases for their products and services, with the potential of having a deeper partnership with Credit Saison India, one of the country's fastest growing non-bank financial companies and part of Japan's Credit Saison Group.
Program Details
About us
Contact us
Established in 2019, Credit Saison India is one of the country’s fastest growing Non-Bank Financial Company (NBFC) lenders, with verticals in wholesale, direct lending and tech-enabled partnerships with Non-Bank Financial Companies (NBFCs) and fintechs.
CS India is registered with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and has an AAA rating from CRISIL (a subsidiary of S&P Global) and CARE Ratings. Currently, CS India has a branch network of 45 physical offices, 1.3 million active loans, an AUM of over US$1.5B and an employee base of over 1,000 people.
Saison Capital is an early-stage venture capital fund (pre-seed to Series B) with a focus on emerging markets. The firm backs ambitious founders at the pre-seed or seed stage and focuses on web3, fintech and commerce.
Operating from the Asia Pacific region but deploying capital on a global scale, Saison Capital harnesses Credit Saison's extensive financial services operating background and resources, and is focused across the key markets of Indonesia, India and Brazil.
CS India and Saison Capital are members of Credit Saison Company Limited, founded in 1951 and one of Japan’s largest non-bank financial companies with over 70 years of history and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Company has evolved from a credit-card issuer to a diversified financial services provider across payments, leasing, finance, real estate and entertainment.